Instant Reaction: Iverson - Billups/McDyess Trade

Detriot gets:

Allen Iverson PG/SG

Denver gets:

Chauncy Billups, PG
Antonio McDyess, F/C

Fantasy impact from the Detroit perspective:

Allen Iverson, in spite of his age, is one of the better pure scorers, defenders and play makers playing in the league today. Because of his experience, he should integrate into the Detroit offense quickly. Assists per game might see a slight uptick with the move, Detroit has several high percentage shooters in the front court and on the wings. I would expect the interior scoring of Maxiell/Wallace/Johnson to increase with this move, because Iverson will look to slash to the lane more than Chauncy Billups. Iverson's scoring will probably decrease a tad because Detriot is simply not going to play at the same pace that Denver did. Iverson has never been a very high percentage shooter, so decreasing his total number of shots is going to take a toll. He might also start playing Billups-level minutes which will diminish his value.

Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell should see an increase in their minutes, provided they can stay out of foul trouble. McDyess was a player that ended up on the floor whenever that combo was in foul trouble or whenever the game was at a critical moment. Consider Johnson, the current starter, to be a viable utility player in shallow leagues -- if he stays out of foul trouble. If you can afford the roster spot I would handcuff him with Maxiell, though.

Fantasy impact from the Denver Perspective:

Chauncy Billups will likely have the freedom to shoot in the Denver offense more. Expect him to play more minutes for George Karl and Co. We should see an increase in his scoring. I view Billups and Iverson roughly equal in the passing department, but Chauncy doesn't really like driving and Denver doesn't have much of an inside game with Nene and Kenyon Martin right now -- so I wouldn't expect that we see any dramatic increase or decrease in assists per game. Anthony Carter is likely headed back to his backup role with JR Smith becoming the starting SG for the Nuggets. This is all kinds of awesome for JR Smith owners -- he's been one of the better 3 point shooters in the league for the last couple years, but hasn't gotten the minutes to support monster fantasy lines.

McDyess is a potentially more interesting player because of how thin the Denver front court is. Nene and Kenyon Martin aren't exactly the greatest defenders in the world, so McDyess might get the nod in close games. Also, Nene and Martin are injury prone, Martin is a little banged up at the moment. McDyess won't be anything earth shattering for fantasy players but he could pretty easily see 22-28 minutes per night as the first front-court sub for the Nuggets.